Week 23

Here are some highlights...

In writing this week, we focused on the importance of an introduction and conclusion in our non-fiction books. We discussed different ways that we can introduce our topic and chapters to hook our reader and draw them in. This will be a strategy we continue to build on as we develop our writing! 

• Start with a question
• Start with an action
• Start with a story

On Thursday, we had our Valentine exchange! In Room 112 we celebrate friendship everyday; however, the kiddos were very excited about all of the love (and treats) that they got!

Thursday also happened to be the 100th day of school...wow does time fly! There were 100 Hershey kisses hidden around the room, so we got to go on a Hershey kiss hunt - the first graders found all but 10... I'm sure they will turn up when we least expect it! We also celebrated by creating 100 year old portraits. By the looks of it, the first graders will age well :)

We ended the week with a STEM activity (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). The kiddos competed in the tallest snowman competition. In groups of 3, the engineers had marshmallows of different sizes and toothpicks. They had to use those tools to create the tallest free standing snowman. Before they could build, they had to plan. The first graders were incredibly thoughtful and strategic and they did what all scientists do - work together and make mistakes! We learned the value of team work, problem solving and engineering, oh and of course marshmallows :)

Through our non-fiction reading and writing unit we have been using and creating table of contents. Here is a fun activity to get familiar with this tool!

What You Need:

• Several books which include Table of Contents pages
• Sticky notes
• Pen
• “Treasure” (a fun reward)

What you Do:

1. Have your child gather up some books that have a Table of Contents page in them.
2. Write clues on sticky notes for your child to use on their "treasure hunt." Each clue they find will send them to the location of the next clue, with the help of the Table of Contents. 
3. Each clue should be easily located using a Table of Contents page, and completely hidden inside the book, so the sticky note isn’t too easy to find!  An example of a clue could be: "What is your favorite pet? You'll find the next clue in the chapter about dogs." If you want to make things a little more challenging and send your child on a search through many different books, you can include clues like this: "Trees are an important part of our eco-system. In the book about trees, you'll find the next clue in the chapter that talks about how trees breathe."
4. Put the sticky notes in the pages of the books in a sequence, so that they all connect and make sense. Make sure that with the last clue, you lead your child to their treasure!
5. After you have all the clues ready, go back to the beginning, and briefly follow the treasure hunt yourself and read the clues to be sure that all of them are in the right place in the books. 
6. Finally, let your child begin their treasure hunt. Assist them as needed in reading the clues and the Table of Contents pages. When they find the final clue, share the treasure with! This is a great way to get your child excited about reading!

Reminders:

February 18: President’s Day Holiday, No School, Bldg. Closed 
February 20: Auction Art Show, 2:45pm-5:30pm in staff room 171 
February 22: Art Literacy @ 8:30am -- If you can volunteer, the more the merrier!
Saturday, February 23: Stephenson Auction @ Oregon Golf Club, 5:00pm

Here are some photos from the week...